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When Cami Mallory was a child, she was around a food stamp booklet enough that it taught her her colors, then how to count and finally how to add and subtract. She grew up and out of poverty, went to school and became the director of a local nonprofit.

鈥淚 did everything right; I did everything they tell you to do,鈥� Mallory said on Friday as she waited in line at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center food pantry in Southeast sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

In October, as politicians on Capitol Hill declared no deal and the government shut down, Mallory lost her job.

More than a month later, as the longest-ever government shutdown appears to be coming to an end, people like Mallory who depend on food assistance are wary of future disruptions.

鈥淭he executive branch decided to play chicken with starving children, seniors and families like mine,鈥� Mallory said Wednesday referring to President Donald Trump鈥檚 attempt to block payments. 鈥淎nd going forward, my family and I, we鈥檙e trying to figure out a backup plan in case this happens again.鈥�

Blame for the shutdown, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts, has been traded back and forth between the Democratic minority and Republican majority in Congress.

鈥淒emocrats are using SNAP as a political chess piece 鈥� it鈥檚 that simple,鈥� said Republican Party Chairwoman of New Mexico, Amy Barela. 鈥淭hey are using the entire discussion of SNAP benefits to deflect from the fact that they have voted to keep the government closed for six weeks. New Mexico鈥檚 congressional delegation is an embarrassment to our state for failing to execute their basic duties.鈥�

Sen. Martin Heinrich, who was one of the Senate Democrats who held out for Affordable Care Act funding, criticized Republican lawmakers for not following through on the party鈥檚 promises of affordability.

鈥淔eeding hungry kids and seniors isn鈥檛 a political issue 鈥� it鈥檚 a moral one,鈥� Heinrich said in a statement Wednesday. 鈥淭his administration ignored court orders, blocked funds Congress already appropriated and chose to let families go hungry.鈥�

The Roundhouse approved funding for food assistance through mid-January during a special legislative session Monday, but some recipients said Wednesday that they had already seen their benefits slashed in half or more.

Inside Storehouse New Mexico, a food pantry on Broadway SE near Downtown, mother and daughter Rosa Esparza and Estrella Mendoza sat in the lobby Wednesday waiting for their turn to collect groceries. Esparza鈥檚 benefits were slashed from $700 to just $170, she said, and the family will have to pool their funds for Thanksgiving this year.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a false sense of security,鈥� Mendoza said of the food assistance program. 鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing.鈥�

Directing a crowd of volunteers in the Storehouse鈥檚 signature turquoise blue, Jill Beets pointed to gaps in the warehouse鈥檚 walls that would have normally housed surplus beans, rice and canned food.

鈥淚t would be unsustainable if charities were to take on the whole load of what SNAP is in our country,鈥� Beets said. 鈥淎s great as it is that local restaurants are giving some free food to the children and people are coming together to do some amazing things 鈥� it鈥檚 not to the level that SNAP provides.鈥�

Though the front room was filled with donated milk, meat, pastries and squash from local grocery stores, the backroom鈥檚 shelves are more bare than usual. With monetary donations, the Storehouse buys wholesale canned food, most of which comes from outside the country and is being held up by tariffs and uncertainty in the global market, Beets said.

Those delays, paired with more demand, are stretching the food bank thin amid the shutdown.

However, the situation has been dire for a while, Beets said, with prices rising and families struggling to keep up. In 2023, the Storehouse fed approximately 55,000 people, last year it fed nearly 80,000.

The shutdown and the uncertainty it brings is worsening food insecurity, Beets said, and bringing some people to the food bank for the first time.

In October alone, the Storehouse saw 10% more people, which she attributed to government employees working without pay and people preparing for cuts to food assistance. The Storehouse doesn鈥檛 have numbers for November, though Beets said she鈥檚 seen many more people coming in at the beginning of the month than usual.

Among the new faces are military service members who came to the Storehouse on the advice of their base commanders, as they work without pay, Beets said. More people are also returning who haven鈥檛 visited in years, she said.

One of those people is Brenda Marquez who said she hadn鈥檛 visited the food bank since 2009, just after the economic recession plunged many Americans into financial trouble.

鈥淚t鈥檚 scary,鈥� Marquez said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e taking what little things we have and giving them to the rich. It鈥檚 not right.鈥�

Marquez has five kids, aged between 17 and 4. Two of them are autistic and require constant care. Her youngest has microcephaly, a birth defect that decreases a child鈥檚 head size and can cause severe complications.

鈥淩ight now it鈥檚 literally medication or food,鈥� said Marquez鈥檚 mother, Nicole Lopez, who lives with her own health issues. Lopez was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack the body鈥檚 organs.

Health issues, or caring for a sick loved one, were a common cause of food insecurity for those visiting the Storehouse that day.

Connie Sanchez had her SNAP benefits cut from $300 to $115, money she uses to feed herself, her uncle and grandmother who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

鈥淚t鈥檚 stressful,鈥� Sanchez said of the future of food assistance.

Her grandmother sometimes asks her for things she can鈥檛 always provide, Sanchez said.

鈥溾�橫ijita, do you have coffee?鈥欌�� Sanchez said her grandmother often asks.

Sanchez does her best to get her grandmother everything she asks for, especially as she is being treated for cancer for the third time and struggles with dementia.

鈥淪he just doesn鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 happening, we have to explain it over and over,鈥� Sanchez said. She loaded spaghetti squash, bread and a birthday cake with colorful sprinkles into her car. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 need her stressed right now.鈥�

On Wednesday, in reaction to news that the government would likely reopen, Mallory implored people to lean into community rather than political division.

鈥淚f we just take the blame game away right now 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 matter your party affiliation 鈥� we can still take care of each other,鈥� Mallory said. 鈥淲e can still have empathy. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e voting red or blue, right? Because I think empathy and basic human kindness does not have a party affiliation, it鈥檚 just humanity.鈥�